Cooper, James Fenimore, an American novelist, born in Burlington, New Jersey; having a passion for the sea, he entered the navy as a midshipman in 1808, but in three years resigned his commission, married, and settled to literature; his novels, which are well known, achieved instant popularity, made him a great favourite with boys, in which he showed himself an expert in the narration of events, the description of scenes, as well as in the delineation of character; he came to loggerheads with the newspaper press, had recourse to actions for libel, conducted his own cases himself, and was always successful (1789‒1851).
Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)
Cooper, Sir Astley * Cooper, Thomas